


Identity Crisis

by actlikesummer



Series: The Kara Stark Chronicles [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Black Mercy, Desperate Tony Stark, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Evil Kara Danvers, Evil Supergirl, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Kara Danvers Has Issues, Kara Danvers Needs a Hug, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Tony Stark, Red Kryptonite Kara Danvers, Team as Family, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Worried Steve Rogers, Worried Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:14:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26512747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actlikesummer/pseuds/actlikesummer
Summary: With the thought of Krypton's destruction in her brain, Kara finds that life is determined to throw you curveballs whether you are ready for them or not.
Relationships: Kara Danvers & Tony Stark, Kara Danvers/Steve Rogers, Supergirl & The Avengers
Series: The Kara Stark Chronicles [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557508
Comments: 21
Kudos: 41





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> These events are taken from episodes of the Supergirl tv show.

“You would think someone rich enough to own an entire tower for all of us to come to would provide us with some actual food.”

Looking up at Clint, Tony lifted a finger. “Why don’t you do something about it, then, Legolas?”

The archer merely glared at his friend for a moment before flopping down next to Natasha on the couch. “I’m hungry.”

“Hi, Hungry, I’m Natasha.” The redhead replied, shoving a handful of pretzels into his mouth.

Laughter erupted from everyone in the room, and it created a sense of warmth and familial bonding that Tony hadn’t felt in a long time. It had been a pretty quiet year in terms of major Avenger events. Since the downfall of SHIELD and HYDRA, all they had really done was search out places that the other agents might have gone to hide.

Other than that, they vowed to try and get closer. They were a team, and ever since Loki had invaded New York, they hadn’t really acted like one. That was, however, except for the ones that lived in the tower. That number seemed to grow every day.

Ever since the event in D.C., Steve had been living in the tower. While neither man was utterly thrilled about the idea of being so close, they knew it meant a lot to Kara, and it was essential to both of them that she was happy. As this was the case, they dealt with it and even found themselves becoming slightly closer than they thought they could be.

This particular night was one of the times they convened at the tower, and it had turned into game night somewhere along the line.

“So, what is this new facility you were talking about?” Rhodey asked his friend, breaking his train of thought.

“Well, this tower is great, but we don’t have a lot of extra room with all the labs and stuff.” Tony started to explain as everyone listened. “My dad owned a bunch of abandoned buildings upstate, and Kara and I thought it was time we put them to some good use.

“The facility is going to have rooms and units for everyone, including anybody else who might join us in the future. It will have a gym, a proper training area, upgraded labs, the works. The whole thing will be state of the art and even more. Since Krypton was so much more advanced, Kara’s a major part of the tech that will go into it.”

“Wow,” Natasha remarked. “I knew you guys started working on it, but I didn’t realize it was going to be that advanced.”

“Yep. The planning of it was all my doing, but the tech part is basically Kara’s baby.” Tony teased. “She’s obsessed and excited about it.”

“Hey, where is Kara anyway?” Sam asked, looking around and realizing their resident alien was nowhere in sight.

The glance shared by Tony, Rhodey, Steve, and Bruce did not go unnoticed by anyone else in the room. “What was that about?”

Sighing, Tony put his glass of whiskey down and rubbed his forehead. “Today is the anniversary of Krypton.”

He didn’t need to give details as everyone understood what he meant. It was the day that her whole world had died, and she’s been sent away to an unknown land, watching as everything she’d ever known perished, as well as her family.

* * *

Letting the breeze ruffle her hair, Kara stared down at the lights below her. Ever since she made the move to New York, her favorite view was the one from above. She was high enough in the sky that no one would be able to spot her easily, but she could still see the cars driving quickly to get to their destinations.

This day had always been hard for her, and she knew that wouldn’t change. Watching the lights flash, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose.

_Kara jumped at each explosion that happened around her. She was young but old enough to know that her planet and everything she’d ever known was dying right in front of her. Holding her mother’s hand, she sprinted to the pod bay and watched as her aunt and uncle sent her cousin away._

_Looking up at her father, she saw that he was scared but trying to hide it. “Your pod’s coordinates are interlocked with Kal-El’s. You will follow him to Earth.”_

_“I’m not afraid, Father,” Kara told him honestly._

_In reality, she was sad. She knew that these were the last moments she had with her parents, and although she knew it was for the best, she did not want to say goodbye._

_Holding her hands, her mother knelt to her level. “The trip is long, but you’ll sleep most of the way, and we’ll be with you in your dreams. You’ll journey to Earth to look after your baby cousin, Kal-El. Because of the Earth’s yellow sun, you’ll have great powers on this planet. You will do extraordinary things.”_

_Tears now building in her eyes, Kara gripped her mother’s hands. “I won’t fail Kal-El or you.”_

_Kissing her daughter’s head, Alura spoke confidently. “I love you, Kara.”_

_An explosion hit close to the bay, causing the ground to shake violently. Kara held onto her mother as tightly as she could and looked out at her crumbling home._

_“You must go now,” Alura told her._

_Nodding, Kara walked to her pod before hesitating. Then she ran back into her mother’s arms and held in a sob as she held her family for the last time._

_“Go!” Her mother finally pulled away and watched as her daughter ran to the pod._

_Sitting inside, Kara felt the shield go up around her and sat back as it took off. Turning, she watched as her parents left her field of vision, and her life changed forever._

Feeling the tears fall down her cheeks, Kara thought of her family. Her mother, a sweet woman who had always been her rock. Her father, a stern but loving man who would always have a story to tell her before she fell asleep. Her cousin, Kal, who was just a baby when they left.

Her job had been to protect him, and she had failed. She knew realistically that it was not her fault, her pod was knocked off course, and his must have been too. But his parents had sent him away to live a better life, and all that had happened was his life ending before it could even begin.

Closing her eyes again, she let herself slowly descend until she was standing on the roof of the tower. Inside, she could hear her friends, no, her family laughing and talking, but she wasn’t quite ready to join them yet. She was contemplating whether or not to fly to her window and avoid everyone when a blast of thunder was heard in the clear night sky.

Smiling, she felt a presence next to her and sighed. “I see you finally made it.”

Thor shrugged. “I remember telling you that I would be late.”

“So, you did.” She nodded. “How is Jane?”

“She is good.” He said as quietly as he could. “Though she understands why this time is important for us as a team. She did say to tell you hello.”

Kara was silent for a moment as she stared up at the stars. “Do you think they would be proud of what we’ve done?”

It hadn’t been long before then that Thor’s mother and Loki had passed tragically. She knew that if anyone could understand what she felt at that moment, it would be him.

“I think so.” He told her honestly. “My mother told me herself every day, but I also believe that if given the chance, your mother would have done the same.”

“But I failed the one mission they gave me.” She told him.

She’d never told anyone that before, including Tony and Steve.

“I think that no matter our failures, our parents would still want us to take pride in the fact that we now fight every day to make them right.” Then he sighed. “Now come. I feel our friends are awaiting our arrival, and we both know how Stark can be when he is annoyed.”

“Oh, let him be annoyed.” Kara teased as they went inside. “It will be nice to have the roles reversed for once.”

Upon their arrival to the group, everyone cheered.

“Finally!” Tony joked. “I was about to have us round up a search party for you guys.”

Rolling her eyes, Kara smacked him gently. “Uh-huh, sure.” Then she headed to the elevator.

“Hey, where do you think you are going?” Sam asked her. “We have a poker game to play!”

“I’ll be right back!” She chuckled. “I need to change. You can wait five minutes for me to take your money, Falcon.”

As everyone laughed at their exchange, Kara let the doors close in front of her. Seeing her friends put her in a better mood than she thought it would, and she was happy to have a distraction on that particular date.

She had a sneaking suspicion that Steve and Tony had done that purposely.

Entering the room she now shared with Steve permanently, she went to the closet to change into something comfortable but stepped in a slimy substance that had her slipping across the floor.

“Ew…” She groaned upon touching the slime. “Dammit, Tony. Stay out of our room with your stupid experiments.”

Fully ready to yell at him, she stopped when some slime hit her on the chest. Looking up, her eyes grew wide as a figure flew towards her, and she hit the floor with a thud. She was out cold in seconds.


	2. The Black Mercy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh my Rao…I’m on Krypton.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, here's the deal. I have a lot going on in my life including online learning with a ten-year-old, a new baby in the family, getting things together to apply for grad school, and deep cleaning my condo (to name a few). So I am thinking I will post a few times a week. It will usually be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday I'm thinking, but that schedule could change. Once I start getting down to the nitty-gritty of grad school application materials, I will know better what I'm looking at.
> 
> Thanks, guys!

It was bright when Kara finally opened her eyes and found her vision blurry. Blinking her eyes, she tried to clear away some of the fog that had entered her brain.

_“How are you feeling, Kara?”_

Her mind opened a little at the sound of the electronic woman’s voice before she paused. “JARVIS? What the hell did Tony do while I was gone?”

Then she remembered the game night. She didn’t remember going back downstairs to play poker or join her friends in other shenanigans. She opened her eyes more to see if she had fallen asleep in her suit when she saw a floating robot and jumped to the head of the bed.

 _“Reflexes are normal.”_ The robot spoke again.

“Okay, you are definitely not JARVIS.”

_“I am Kelex. Your medical attendant.”_

“Where am I?” Now Kara was starting to panic. This was not Avengers Tower.

 _“Your confusion will abate as your temperature stabilizes.”_ Kelex flew towards her. _“Would you care to dress?”_

Looking at the garment at the end of her bed, Kara’s heart stopped. “This was my mother’s tunic.” She grabbed it in her hands and stared down at it. “She used to wear it when she would put me to bed at night.”

Narrowing her eyes, Kara’s gaze shot up to the robot. “Where did you get this?”

“I gave it to you.”

“Mom?” Kara froze. “How could you be here?”

Walking over to her, Alura shook her head. “I stayed home every day while you recovered from the Argo fever.”

“This can’t be real.” Kara breathed out as she stood. “You died with the rest of Krypton.”

“Oh, sweet, Kara…” Alura dropped slightly to her daughter’s height and grabbed her hands. “You must have had terrible hallucinations from the fever. But it’s over now. You’re awake. You’re safe.” Her mother hugged her. “You’re home.”

Finally, taking a real look at her surroundings, Kara’s jaw dropped in shock. Walking away from her mother, she looked out the large picture window and saw something she never thought she would see again.

Krypton. She really _was_ home.

“Oh my Rao…I’m on Krypton.”

* * *

“Holy shit Nat, how long does it take to make a drink?”

Glancing up from the bar, Natasha smirked at Tony. “Be careful, or you’ll get a surprise in yours.”

Instantly Clint turned to face her. “Natasha, please tell me you’re not experimenting with those old Russian poisons again.”

Shrugging nonchalantly, Natasha continued to pour herself and Tony a drink. “I only paralyzed you for a week, Clint. You need to let that go.”

“I’m sorry, you did what now?” Sam started laughing. “Are you seriously telling me that she paralyzed you for a whole week, and you still let her run the show?”

Clint, unfazed by the usual antics of his redheaded best friend, merely sat back on the couch and nodded. “I mean, I could sort of move my toes. That has to count for something.”

“Sure, big guy.” Tony teased. “The next time we need someone who is an expert at moving toes, we’ll give you a call.”

Natasha walked back over and handed Tony his drink. Though no one else seemed to notice, she got a small thrill out of watching him discreetly try to check for anything she may have spiked it with. When he looked up and caught her eye, she smirked again and took a sip of her own.

“Dude, does Kara always take this long to get ready?” Rhodey asked as he sat next to Steve. “I can’t ever remember a time that she cared what she looked like for game night.”

Holding his hands in the air, Steve blushed. “I’m not going anywhere near that question, Rhodes.”

“Yeah, the big guy doesn’t want to risk his chances at getting laid tonight.” Sam joked.

“And who are you sleeping with again?” Steve asked him. “Oh, wait, that’s right. That cute little waitress from back home turned you down again.”

As everyone laughed, Thor turned to Bruce. “It does seem to be taking her a while. I would have thought super speed would come in handy with things such as this.”

Bruce shrugged. “I mean, it is a pretty rough day for her. Maybe she just needed a few extra minutes to herself. I don’t think any of us could blame her for not wanting to join right in to the craziness that we bring to the table.”

“Hey, she often contributes to that craziness, thank you very much.” Clint reminded him. “She may be an alien, but she’s no saint when it comes to messing around with the rest of us.”

“Well, in any case, she’s taking too long, and I want to take everyone’s money,” Tony said smugly. “JARVIS, tell my sister to get her ass in gear. We’re waiting down here.”

_“Miss Stark is unable to attend, sir, as there seems to be significant vital changes to her condition.”_

Glancing at Steve, Tony set his glass down. “Her condition? JARVIS, what is she doing?”

_“It seems as though Miss Stark has become unconscious. I am also detecting another being in her immediate vicinity.”_

Instantly on alert, Steve jumped from his seat. “JARVIS, is she breathing?”

_“Her vital signs seem to be normal but fluctuating. I see no signs of distress or injury. As for the other being, I cannot seem to find any reading on it.”_

As Steve ran from the room, Tony looked at everyone else. “Stay on alert but stay here. Thor, you come with us.”

Following the super-soldier out of the room, they hurried to the elevator and willed it to go faster as they rode to her floor. Upon arriving, all three men shot out of the small space and hurried to the bedroom.

“What the hell is all this slime?” Tony asked, not expecting an answer.

_“It seems to be the same slime in Miss Stark and Captain Rogers' room. I would guess that it came from the unknown element in the room.”_

“JARVIS, how did you not catch this while it was in the tower?” Tony asked in a rush.

_“My system update was still configuring. I was not back online yet until shortly before you called for me.”_

“Dammit, I forgot about that.”

Throwing open the door, Steve ran to her and dropped to his knees. “Kara!”

“Don’t touch her!” Thor ordered, looking around the room.

Kara’s body was sprawled on the ground near their bed, and her face looked peaceful as if she was sleeping. The only thing that scared them was the tentacled creature that had attached itself to her chest.

“JARVIS, get a medical team up here right now and tell the rest of the Avengers what is going on,” Tony instructed in a panic. “Then start searching through Kara’s Kryptonian research for any hits on a creature like this. There has to be a way to fix this.”

“Thor, what is that?” Steve asked quickly, holding his hands near her but doing as the god told him.

“I believe it is called a Black Mercy,” Thor told them. “I’ve never seen one, but we know of them on Asgard. If that is indeed what this creature is, I am afraid she is in great danger.”


	3. Working as a Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Whatever this organism is, it is gripping your sister with over 100 pounds of pressure. She is unresponsive to outside stimuli, but her brain activity is still normal.”
> 
> “So, it’s like her body is unaware that anything is wrong,” Bruce added, understanding what they meant.
> 
> The doctor nodded. “I am not sure what else my team can do for her at this moment. This seems to be an…other-worldly issue that we are not yet equipped to handle.”

Down in the medical bay, the team paced the corridor as they waited for answers on their friend and teammate. It hadn’t been long since they found Kara in her room, but the worry and pressure was mounting.

Finally, seeing through the glass that the medical team seemed to be gesturing towards them, Tony stood. “Fuck this; I’m going in there.”

Taking this as their cue, the whole team filed in behind him, and the lead doctor looked at them apprehensively. “Listen, I know this whole thing is-”

“If you’re about to tell us to leave,” Steve said darkly. “don’t. It won’t go well for you.”

“What’s wrong with my sister?” Tony asked him, feeling Rhodey’s hand on his shoulder.

Sighing, the doctor waved them over so they could stand by her. “Whatever this organism is, it is gripping your sister with over 100 pounds of pressure. She is unresponsive to outside stimuli, but her brain activity is still normal.”

“So, it’s like her body is unaware that anything is wrong,” Bruce added, understanding what they meant.

The doctor nodded. “I am not sure what else my team can do for her at this moment. This seems to be an…other-worldly issue that we are not yet equipped to handle.”

Thinking for a moment, Tony looked at Bruce, who shrugged. “Have her transferred down to our lab. If you can’t help her, we will.”

“Mr. Stark, I wouldn’t advise taking her off of the monitors until we know that-”

“Then bring the monitors with her!” Tony shouted. “I am going to find out what is wrong with my sister one way or another.”

Then he turned and walked out of the room. The scared doctor turned and faced the rest of the group.

“I really don’t think she should be moved. Whatever this thing is…it isn’t going to give up without a fight. Without proper medical care-”

“Can you fix her?” Everyone looked to Steve, who stood rim-rod straight with his arms folded across his chest. “Is there anything at all you can do for her?”

The doctor shook his head sadly. “No, there is not.”

“Then you heard Tony. Transfer her to the lab.”

“Captain Rogers, I-”

“Now, Doctor. If you can’t do anything here, she may as well be in the hands of her family.” There was no room for argument on his face.

Hesitating, the doctor turned to his team. “Keep the monitors and prepare for transport to Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner’s lab.” He glanced at Steve. “Immediately.”

* * *

“According to Hill, SHIELD was storing many different artifacts and materials that had any relation to the events that brought Kara and Thor to Earth. She confirmed that a Black Mercy was one of them.” Natasha told everyone after Kara had been moved down to the lab.

“So, once we took down HYDRA and destroyed SHIELD, they released some of those things,” Sam concluded. “Great.”

“Unfortunately, they never knew what it was or what it was for,” Natasha added. “They just knew it needed to be contained.”

“Thor?” Rhodey turned to the god, who was sadly looking at his friend. “You were the one who identified this thing. Any idea what it is used for?”

Shaking his head, Thor looked at them. “Unfortunately, we do not have these creatures on Asgard, so I am not able to know. I only knew its name because of a book in my father’s study.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Steve asked, and everyone saw that he was looking at Bruce and Tony.

The two scientists stood on either side of Kara as a large claw hung over her.

“The claw is made of a titanium alloy,” Bruce told them as he adjusted some numbers on his computer.

Tony grunted as he made sure the claw was in the right place. “We just need to pull this thing off slow and steady.”

Just as Tony said, Bruce lowered the claw and started to pull the Black Mercy from her body. In the next moment, many alarms started going off around them that had the team panicked. Kara’s body started seizing frantically, and her bed shook.

“Her heart rate is spiking,” Bruce said frantically.

“Her brain waves are off the charts,” Tony said at the same time.

“Pull it off of her!” Steve yelled at them, his hands balled into fists at his side.

The rapid beeping became one continuous beep, and Bruce shared a look with Tony. “She’s crashing. I’m stopping it.”

They dropped the organism back onto her body, and her body slumped back down into its peaceful state. Immediately, her vitals went back to normal, and noise could be heard from the Black Mercy. Shoving away from the table, Tony walked away from the group.

“What the hell just happened?” Steve demanded to know, looking to Bruce for the answers.

Sighing, the scientist fiddled with his glasses. “It’s a symbiotic defense. If we pull this thing off by force, it’ll kill Kara.”

“There has to be a way to help her,” Rhodey said quietly. “We can’t leave her like this, and Pepper and Layna will be back from their trip in the morning.”

“JARVIS, have you found anything in Kara’s notes?” Steve inquired of the AI.

_“No, sir. Unfortunately, Miss Stark has not finished uploading all of the data from her memories or writings yet.”_

“The book.”

Everyone turned and looked at Tony. Stepping forward, Clint looked confused. “What was that?”

“After Loki’s attack on Manhattan. Fury gave Kara that Kryptonian book. What if there’s something in there?” He looked at Thor. “Can you read it?”

He hesitated then nodded. “I learned a little on Asgard, and Kara has taught me a bit. I can try.”

“Sam, Natasha, Clint…think you can find our crazy HYDRA agent that set this thing loose?” Rhodey asked quickly.

They nodded. “Definitely,” Clint told him. “It’s the least we can do.”

“Right now, it’s our best bet,” Natasha told them. “Let’s get to work.”

“Hopefully, this will help,” Bruce mentioned as everyone left the room. “Rhodey, why don’t you and Tony come help me in Kara’s lab. She may have something in there that can help release the pressure this thing has on her.”

Glancing to Steve, who was staring at Kara, Rhodey got the message. “Yeah, Tones, knowing Kara, she’s got something down there that rivals your stuff.”

“It’s worth a shot.” He admitted, not giving in to the joke Rhodey had tried to make.

Soon after, they left the room, and Steve was alone with Kara’s unconscious form. Sitting down in the chair next to her, he sighed and dropped his head to his chest.

“Please, God, let her be okay.”


	4. Family Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I used to resent her for coming into my home. For taking up all of my father’s attention at work; this strange girl who didn’t know how to fit in. For embarrassing me in front of my father. But all Kara wanted was a family. And that’s what she is to me. She is my sister…and she needs me now, more than ever. So, please. Tell me how to help my little sister!”

Walking around in a panic, Kara shook her head. “This can’t be happening. I have to get out of here.”

“Kara, please calm down,” Alura told her daughter.

“I don’t have my powers.” The Avenger said fearfully. “Whatever’s behind this is mimicking the effects of Krypton’s sun.”

“We are _on_ Krypton,” Alura assured her.

“What? No, someone is manipulating me by using my memories against me.” She said hurriedly and walked away from her mother.

Then she stopped suddenly in her tracks. In front of her, on a small ledge across the room, stood a small statue with wings.

“Do you see that?” Kara asked quietly. “I made it for my father when I was eight. I even remember getting upset I couldn’t get the wings right.”

“And then he told you it was perfect.” Alura reminded her. “And that he loved it, and you, with all his heart.”

“He made me feel so proud.” Kara held the statue in her hands. “And so happy. Like he always did.”

“See?” Alura chuckled. “You do remember.”

Looking up, Kara set the statue down so that she could turn to her mother. “But I also remember saying goodbye to you on that launch bay and promising to take care of Kal-El. And hugging you so tight, never wanting to let go.

“I’ve fantasized about all of this every day since I left. I don’t know how this is happening, but I’m going to find out. And when I do, I’m going home.”

* * *

Sitting alone in the lab, Steve looked at Kara’s unconscious face and held her hand. He glanced up at the monitors and watched as her vitals remained calm and normal.

Sighing, he shook his head. “You have to wake up, Kara. Just let me know you’re in there. Please…”

He knew she wouldn’t respond but was still disappointed when nothing happened on her end. Looking around the lab, he tried his best to hold in his emotions, but it didn’t seem to be working.

“You know when I threw myself into that ice, I thought I was done. Then I woke up, and everything I had ever known was gone…I thought it would be impossible to ever find hope again. But then I did.” He looked up at her. “You did that, Kara. You brought that hope back into my life. The day I met you, everything that didn’t make sense in my life finally fell into place.

“I honestly never expected to fall in love. Nobody wanted a guy as scrawny and pathetic as me, and then suddenly, they did, thanks to the serum. And suddenly there was Peggy. It felt like it went by so fast, and then she was gone. I thought I would never love anyone that way again.

“But, God, Kara…I need you. Layna needs you. We’re finally a family, a family I didn’t know I needed. I know you’ve had a hard life, and I know this is hard for you. Believe me, I can understand better than anyone. But you have to come back.”

He chuckled dryly and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “I don’t even know if you can hear me, but all of this needs to be said. And I should have said all of this when I had the chance, but I am not ever going to make that mistake again. Your parents turned you into a weapon and told you to find peace, and I swear to you that I will give you that peace.

“Kara, I promise you that we will get you out of this. And when we do, I am making it my mission to ask you to marry me.” He sighed. “I’ll have to ask Tony first, but I promise I will make it happen. We’ve been acting like a married couple for over two years now…I think it’s time to make it official. Just please…come back to us.” He paused. “Come back to _me_.”

* * *

“Damn it!”

There was a loud clang as Rhodey and Bruce looked up in Tony’s direction.

Sighing heavily, Rhodes went over to him. “Tones…it’s going to be okay.”

“I don’t see anything on here that helps us understand this creature.” Tony ignored his friend as he searched her files.

“Tony…”

“Bruce, I don’t want to hear it.” The frustrated man told his friend. “I just want to save my sister.”

“I think I found something.” The scientist told him, causing the other men to look up in shock.

Typing a few buttons on her computer, a holographic image shined out in the middle of the room. The image was of a woman dressed in a blue tunic. She had dark hair, and her face was neutral as she stared in front of her.

Recognizing some of the features on the woman’s face, Tony’s breath left his body. “My God…”

“Who the hell is that?” Rhodey wondered aloud.

 _“My name is Alura Zor-El. I am from the planet Krypton.”_ The image spoke in response to his question.

“Wait, a minute, Zor-El isn’t that-”

“Kara’s mom,” Tony told Rhodey quickly. “Bruce, how?”

“It was linked to a special file that I almost couldn’t get into, connected to other information she received from SHIELD. The file is extremely similar to the one we have for JARVIS. It must be part of an interactive artificial intelligence program that’s called ‘From Living Memory.’”

_“I have been programmed to offer my daughter assistance here on Earth.”_

“So you can help us, then?” Bruce asked her quickly. “Your daughter is in danger.”

_“I will help in any way I can.”_

“There is a creature that is holding her mind of body hostage,” Tony said quickly. “It’s called a Black Mercy. How do we get rid of it?”

_“I do not have sufficient information regarding this species.”_

“Kara is in trouble,” Tony said forcefully. “And nothing I am doing is working.”

_“I do not have sufficient data regarding this-”_

“Damn it, Kara’s relying on me! She has always relied on me.” Tony yelled, and both men let him speak. “Ever since you sent her here. I’m sure that you had hoped that she would find people that would take care of her, who would love her like she was their own.

“Well, I did. I only wish I had been a better brother to her when she first got here. I can’t…” He trailed off and felt his voice breaking. “I can’t even imagine it now.

“I used to resent her for coming into my home. For taking up all of my father’s attention at work; this strange girl who didn’t know how to fit in. For embarrassing me in front of my father. But all Kara wanted was a family. And that’s what she is to me. She is my sister…and she needs me now, more than ever. So, please. Tell me how to help my little sister!”

_“I do not have sufficient information regarding this species.”_

Taking this as his cue, Bruce cut the feed as Tony lowered his head into his hands. Grabbing his shoulder, Rhodey shook him slightly. “Tones, you were a great brother. You can’t think like that. Kara knows you are an amazing brother, and she thinks the world of you. You know this better than anyone…or at least you should. We will figure this out.”

Tony was saved from having to answer when JARVIS’s voice sounded around them. “Miss Romanoff, Mr. Barton, and Mr. Wilson have requested that everyone meet in the lab to discuss what they have found.”

Looking up, the men nodded. “Let’s go.”

* * *

“I don’t understand,” Kara said as she paced her room. “Something has to be causing this.”

“Kara, nothing is wrong.” Her mother told her in a soothing voice. “I told you. You are safe at home.”

“This is not my home. My home is back on…” She paused as her brain tried to find the right word. “Back on…Earth!”

“Earth is thousands of lightyears away,” Alura told her. “And why would I ever send you to that primitive planet?”

Breathing heavily, Kara turned and ran to the doorway. Escaping into the hall, she hurried down the long corridor, searching for any way out of this dream. She was brought to a stop as two people stepped in front of her.

“Kara.”

Tilting her head, Kara’s eyes went wide. “Father?”

Looking at both of her parents, she shook her head and closed her eyes. “No. No, this cannot be real. This is not real. This is not real.”

She repeated this mantra in her head as she ran back to her room but stopped suddenly as she entered. Her parents stood in front of her, though it seemed impossible as they had just been behind her.

“It’s the fever again.” Her father said sadly.

Kara froze as she stared at a spot on the floor. “I remember playing right there. And I made this crack…” She hurried to the dresser. “…when I tripped chasing after Aunt Astra.”

“Yet even after you fell, you got right back up again. Nothing can keep you down.”

Kara was confused as she watched her aunt walk into the room. “But…but how are you here?”

Chuckling, Astra put her hands on her niece’s shoulders. “I live here! Where else would I be?”

“No…you were sent to prison,” Kara told her. “You left when I was young. You can’t be here.”

“Kara, calm down. Why would we ever send your aunt to prison?” Her father asked her. “She is part of our family, and all of our family is right here.”

“No, I was just with my family last night on…on…” She paused again. “Why can’t I remember?”

“All nightmares end the longer we are awake,” Alura told her.

“No, wait…I still…I feel it,” Kara told them, shaking her head. “I have glimpses of…flying.”

“We only fly in our dreams, Kara.” Astra smiled.

“I have friends there who need me,” Kara said quietly. “Family…”

“Kara…”

Turning, Kara saw a young boy holding an old toy she played with as a girl. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at him.

“Kal-El.”

Walking over to him, he handed her the toy and looked up at her. “Do you remember how to open it?”

“Yeah.” She chuckled and spun it a few times until it opened to reveal a holographic galaxy.

“Look, Kara,” Kal-El told her. “There’s Krypton. Isn’t it beautiful?”

With tears in her eyes, Kara watched it float around her. “It’s so beautiful.”

Then she let herself get lost in the image as her memories faded away.


	5. Preparing for a Fantasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But what if they’re right? When happens if you can’t handle the technology or if something happens to you in there? You have no idea what scenario you’re walking into.”
> 
> “Bruce…yesterday was the decades-old anniversary of Krypton’s destruction.” Tony reminded him. “I have a pretty good idea of where I’m headed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always liked the "Clint in the vents" thing. I will definitely be using it in this series. Obviously.

“So this…Agent Jones, he was the one who set this thing free?”

The group was gathered around Tony and Bruce’s lab again, looking at the trio for information.

Natasha nodded at Steve before answering. “We found him holed up in a motel on the other end of the city.”

“He didn’t just set this thing free, either,” Sam added. “He set it loose in the building. He managed to find a vent and stuck it in there.”

“So how come it got Kara and not Cupid over here?” Tony asked, gesturing to Clint. “He spends more time in there than anyone else.”

“Similar looking for similar?” Natasha shrugged. “We’re assuming it sensed another alien presence in the building and gravitated towards that.”

“Son of a bitch.” Tony sighed. “So where is he now?”

“We have him tied up in his room still,” Clint told him. “We didn’t want to turn him over yet in case we needed more information from him.”

“Thor, what can you tell us about this thing?” Bruce asked the Asgardian behind them.

“From what I can make out in Kara’s writings, a Black Mercy is some kind of telepathic parasite. It keeps its victims trapped in lifelike hallucinations displaying their perfect fantasy life. One that grows more and more real with each passing moment.” He told them.

“Does it say how we get her out of it?” Steve urged, hope edging into his voice.

“The writings state that the victim must reject the fantasy herself.” He said sadly.

“But if she doesn’t know it isn’t real, how can she reject it?” Rhodey asked him, knowing that both Steve and Tony were about to explode.

“What if someone were to get inside her fantasy and try to coax her out of it?” Bruce suggested. “I saw some virtual reality tech down in Kara’s lab that we could modify to allow someone to enter into her mind and find her.”

“That sounds really dangerous and risky,” Sam commented to no one in particular.

“When have we ever done anything that wasn’t dangerous or risky?” Natasha asked him. “Or both, for that matter.”

“Still, Sam is right. We can’t risk losing anybody else trying to bring her back.” Rhodey jumped in. “We all know that Kara wouldn’t want that. There has to be another way.”

“There does not seem to be,” Thor said, gesturing to the book he had laid on the desk next to him. “All it references is the victim having to break themselves out of their own fantasy.”

“Hang on, has anyone else thought about what this is going to do to Kara?” Clint asked them. “She is literally in her own personal version of heaven. Pulling her out of this is going to crush her. Has anyone even thought about that?”

“Tony has thought about that,” Natasha said quietly, her voice breaking the sudden silence Clint had caused. “That’s why he’s willing to do it.”

All eyes turned to the man in question. “I know my sister better than I know myself. She has family here. She has a daughter here. No matter how great her fantasy is, she would want to be here in the real world. If I thought that leaving her in there would be better than pulling her out…”

Walking to his desk, he looked down at the picture of himself and Kara at her MIT graduation. She was smiling as she shoved a piece of cake into his face. They hadn’t had a big party for her, but even within their small group, someone had managed to capture the moment of silliness between them. It was one of his favorite pictures of them.

“This is our only chance at saving her,” Tony told them. “If she doesn’t reject it, she doesn’t come back. That is not something I am going to let happen.”

“Neither am I.” Steve agreed with him. “She comes home. No matter how dangerous it is.”

* * *

Down in Kara lab, Bruce and Tony worked as fast as they could to modify her designs. They worked in silence for most of the time except for the random passing of equations, but Bruce knew that there was a lot bottled up inside his friend’s mind.

He waited for the right moment, just as they were nearing the completion of their work, to say anything. “Have you thought about what will happen if this doesn’t work?”

“Banner, we’re geniuses. This is going to work.” Tony told him confidently.

“That’s is true, but once Steve is inside, what if he can’t convince her to come out?”

“Steve isn’t going in. I am”

Bruce stared at him. “What? But Steve…”

“Is fine.” Tony finished for him. “But I’m her big brother, and I’m not leaving her in there.”

“But we don’t know what this could do to you. At least Steve has the serum in his body that can help him out if need be.” Bruce tried to reason with him, but he could see as he spoke that it was a losing battle.

“I would destroy myself to save her, Bruce.” Tony looked up at him, and he could see the emotion swirling in the man’s eyes. “Without my little sister, I probably literally wouldn’t be here. No matter what has happened in my life, she has been the one constant thing I knew I could always rely on.

“Whenever I was a drunken asshole, Kara was there to put me to sleep and keep me from making bad decisions. When I was stuck on a project, she was the ear that would listen. When I became Iron Man and would come home with all kinds of injuries, she was the one who would patch me up. Whenever I felt down about myself, she was there, calling me an idiot and reminding me how good of a person I am. If I was having problems with Pepper, if I was sad or scared, if I needed literally anything at all…”

He trailed off and closed his eyes. Bruce watched as the man composed himself and sat in a chair by the desk he was working at. He didn’t speak again right away, and Bruce wasn’t going to push him.

“You know when she first came to Earth, these dickwad SHIELD scientists took her in and did all these crazy experiments on her. When our parents died, Stane rigged the system, and she was forced to go back there. I was so drunk, I didn’t even know at first, and she stayed there, wasting away and being tortured for weeks.”

“Jesus.” The curly-haired man winced, knowing what that felt like. “That sounds horrible.”

“I saw the tapes afterward. Literally, the only thing she wanted was me. She couldn’t have cared less about food or water or anything else. She only ever cried out for me. Even when I finally saved her, her first thought was me.

“I’m not letting that happen again, Bruce. I promised her I would always protect her, and I am not going back on that. Ever.”

Nodding, Bruce leaned on the table. “Then we better get this tech up there and bring her home, huh?”

“Yeah, about that…”

“What?” Bruce was confused.

“I need a favor,” Tony said honestly, his voice the most sincere he’d ever had in his life. “We both know our team. If they think I’m in trouble when I’m plugged into that thing, they’re going to pull me out, whether I’ve saved Kara or not. I need you to stop them.”

“Tony, what do you want me to do? I’m only one person.” Bruce argued.

“So, Hulk out if you have to!” Tony said seriously.

“But what if they’re right? When happens if you can’t handle the technology or if something happens to you in there? You have no idea what scenario you’re walking into.”

“Bruce…yesterday was the decades-old anniversary of Krypton’s destruction.” Tony reminded him. “I have a pretty good idea of where I’m headed.”

“Shit.” Bruce sighed. “Tony, this whole thing sounds totally insane. If she chooses to stay in there…”

“I don’t care, Bruce.”

“What about Layna? What happens to her if this goes sideways?” He yelled at his friend, not caring if he turned slightly green.

“She has Cap, and we know damn well he’ll give her the world. She’ll have Happy, and Pepper, and Rhodey, and you, and everyone else.” Tony told him. “I need you to agree to this, Bruce, because it’s very important.

“I either come back with my sister, or I don’t come back at all.”


	6. Rejecting the Fantasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your friends need you. The world needs Supergirl.”
> 
> “And I need my sister!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know this may seem out of character to some people, but I can totally imagine Tony freaking out this way when it comes to his family. I know I would if it were my little sister. (Not to mention I was also following the show...)
> 
> Anyway, this is how I saw that playing out.
> 
> I also wanted to make a disclaimer and say that I know there are some readers who I am losing because they are finding what I'm writing uninteresting or falling flat. I'm sorry you feel that way and I'm sorry to see you go, but I'm not sorry with how I have this series going. I am proud of this series and while I understand that some things I write and some decisions I make will not make sense to everyone or seem illogical to others, I know where I'm taking this and I like how I'm doing it. I'm sorry if you don't but I hope some of you will stick along for the ride with me.
> 
> Thanks and enjoy!

“So, how does this work again?”

Glancing up at Steve, Bruce sighed as he connected the wires to Kara and Tony. It had been a bit of a fight when Tony announced that he was going, but as much as he loved her, even Steve knew not to mess with a protective older brother.

Especially when that brother was Tony Stark.

“The helmet will instantly connect Tony to Kara’s consciousness. That will allow him to experience whatever’s going on her head in real-time.” Bruce detailed as Tony jumped onto a metal table and prepared himself for the trip.

“Remember,” Thor said from across the room. “you have to get Kara to reject this fantasy herself.”

Nodding, Tony slipped the helmet on and laid down. “See you kids on the flip side.”

Then he felt Bruce push a button, and he was gone from the lab. Feeling a jolt, he leapt from the table and breathed heavily.

“Kara!”

Looking around, he realized he was no longer in his tower. He knew logically that he was most likely on Krypton, and couldn’t deny that it was just as beautiful as she had always told him. It was bright in the room he sat in, and he tried to get his bearings.

Walking through the halls of the palace he was in, he used his Iron Man instincts to point him in the right direction. He was starting to worry about his ability to find her when he heard voices in a room near him.

“Kara was a natural in court today,” Alura told her family. “Kal-El, you would have been so proud of your cousin.”

“I noticed your mother and I were not the only ones who came to watch you today.” Zor-El teased.

“Del-Or seems like a very nice young man.” Alura smiled.

“Boy.” Zor-El corrected protectively. “And yes, I like him very much. Clearly, Kara does too, or she would not be spending so much of her free time with him.”

“Father!” Kara chuckled.

Seeing Kara sitting with her mother and the others, Tony hurried into the room. “Kara…”

The group all stood together, as one, and Kara stepped forward. “Who are you?”

“It’s me, Tony.” He said when she looked confused. “Your brother.”

“I have no brother.”

The pang that hit Tony’s heart nearly shattered him, but he pressed on. “Kara, you’re suffering from the effects of a creature called the Black Mercy. It’s created this illusion to incapacitate you back on Earth.”

“Earth?” Kara was confused.

“It’s where you’ve been since you were ten years old.” He told her. “I’ve come to take you home.”

“I am home.” Kara turned to look at her mother.

Then, in a surprise attack, grabbed the statue she made from the dresser and swung it back to hit him in the head. Taking the blow, he felt his vision go out, and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

In the lab, everything was quiet until the machines suddenly started to beep rapidly. As everyone jumped up, Bruce fiddled with the wires.

“We’re losing him,” Rhodey told Bruce. “Pull him out now!”

“I can’t,” Bruce told him honestly.

“Why not?” Steve ordered. “He’s going to die if we leave him in there.”

“If we pull him out now, we lose Kara!” Bruce raised his voice in return.

“We will find another way!” Natasha insisted.

Steve stepped forward to pull the helmet off of him, but Bruce stuck his hand out, his skin quickly turning green. “He asked me to stop you.”

“What?” Rhodey was stunned.

“He knew that you guys would react this way if things went bad. So he asked me because he wants to save Kara.” Bruce explained.

“You think we don’t want that?” Rhodey asked him. “You think _I_ don’t want that? That girl has been like a sister to me since she and Tony became close.”

“I get that, Rhodey, I do,” Bruce said quickly. “And I know that Tony is more than just your best friend; he’s your brother. I understand. But if you pull him out before he has a chance to save his sister, he will never look at you the same way again. You know that.”

Rhodey paused. “I can’t lose him.”

“And you won’t.” Bruce insisted. “Because Tony is a lot like Kara. He always finds a way. You just have to trust him.”

* * *

Blinking open his eyes, Tony tried to remember what happened. His head hurt, and the bright lights of the room did nothing to help with that. Looking up, it all came rushing back to him.

He had come to save Kara, and she had knocked him out. She was so far into her fantasy, she didn’t remember him, and now he was handcuffed in front of what looked like a courtroom full of people. Kara stood only a few feet from him, her eyes dark and un-Kara-like.

“The High Council has rendered our verdict on the alien spy,” Alura said aloud. “We impose the maximum penalty. Banishment to the Phantom Zone.”

Now Tony was desperate and rushed forward, only to be caught by two guards. “Kara, if they take me away, you and I will be trapped here until the Black Mercy kills us.”

“Do not listen to him,” Zor-El told his daughter. “Once he is gone, we’ll be happy. Like we were before he came here.”

“Why do you think they’re trying to silence me?” Tony pleaded with her. “It’s because they’re afraid of what I have to say.”

“He’s trying to confuse you with lies,” Alura told her.

“No! I am trying to remind you of the truth.” Tony told her, and he let himself give in to the sobbing now as he struggled against the guards. “Life isn’t perfect. I know it can be hard, and it can be lonely, especially for you. You have sacrificed, and you have lost so much. I wish you could’ve had a life with your family. But even if you did, Kara, it wouldn’t be this. Because this isn’t real. And deep down, Kara…deep down, you know it.”

The room started to rumble as he spoke and fought the guards as hard as he could, but he trained his eyes on his sister. “I can’t promise you a life without pain and loss because pain is a part of life. It’s what makes us who we are. It’s what makes you a hero.”

Finally, taking over, he took down the guards holding him and ran forward, only to be caught by Kara’s father. “You fight every day to keep people from struggling like you have. I know you can remember, please…if you try…please try Kara. Because Earth needs Supergirl.”

“Supergirl?” Kara whispered as she walked forward.

“Yes, remember that life. With Pepper, and Rhodey, and Steve, and the Avengers.” He could see the light seep slightly into her eyes now. “And with Layna.”

“Layna.” Her voice was stronger now. “My daughter.”

“Your friends need you. The world needs Supergirl.” They wrestled with him and finally managed to get him on a platform to send him away. Letting himself sob, he looked at his sister. “And I need my sister!”

Kara looked up in shock as the glass started breaking, and everything crashed around them.

“Kara, I can’t choose this for you. You have to choose it yourself.” He cried. “But whatever you choose, you will always, _always_ , be my little sister.”

Zor-El turned to his daughter, a look of fear on his face as she spoke. “I wish…I want so much for all of this to be true…to stay here with you.

“But this isn’t real.”

Walking forward to Tony, she was stopped by her mother. “No!”

“You taught me to be so strong…and I am.” She told her. “Thank you. Krypton will be in my heart forever.

“But Tony is right…” She smiled. “ _My brother_ is right. I have to go.”

The room shook, and their bodies shook with it. Kara looked at her mother. “I love you.”

“Oh, Kara…” Alura said through tears. Then she hugged her, and her eyes turned black. “We will never let you leave.”

The room shook, breaking them apart. Steadying herself against the floor where she had landed, Kara crawled forward to get closer to her brother. “Tony!”

“I got you…I got you.”

They reached their hands out for each other as the room got brighter, and suddenly Tony felt the familiar jerk of the machine, and he was waking up on the metal table in his lab.

“Tony, thank God.” Rhodey rushed forward and helped him sit, placing the helmet on the desk behind them.

Instantly, he jumped from the table and rushed to his sister’s side. Seeing that she was still attached to the Black Mercy, she turned to him. “You pulled me out? How could you?” Then he turned on Bruce. “I told you to stop them!”

“I did!” Bruce said weakly.

Tony jumped forward but was grabbed by Clint and Rhodey. “She was about to choose us! She was about to come home!”

“Tony…”

“Why did you pull me out?” He yelled at them.

“We didn’t!” Steve roared back.

“Then how did I come back?” He yelled again, tears in his eyes.

He knew in the back of his mind that he would care about that emotional display later, but at the moment, he wasn’t even thinking about it.

“Because you did it,” Bruce told him. “You did it. You convinced her.”

Turning, everyone looked at Kara and watched as the creature slowly slithered off of her body. It slid to the floor, and everyone gave it a wide berth.

Looking at his friend, Steve gestured to it with his chin. “Thor…”

“I’ll capture it.” He told them.

“I’ll come with you.” Sam offered, and both left the room.

Instantly, Kara flinched and tore the oxygen mask off of her face.

Jumping forward, Steve grabbed her as she sat up. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re back. I’ve got you.”

Sighing, Tony looked relieved as he stood in front of her. He finally let his shoulders drop and rubbed his eyes to clear them of tears.

“You okay?” Natasha asked her quietly, as the Kryptonian hadn’t yet spoken a word.

The look on her face broke everyone’s heart. This was not the carefree and spunky Kara they knew. This Kara was cold and distant and angry. She looked brave and strong and broken…all at once.

“Kara, are you okay?” Rhodey asked her as she stared at the floor.

Pushing herself off the table, Kara blinked the tears from her eyes as she turned to face them. “Who did this to me?”

Her voice was low and threatening.

“A former agent of SHIELD slash HYDRA” Natasha told her. “Agent Jones.”

“Where is he?”


	7. Human Reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you have any idea what you did to me? You made me lose them…again!”
> 
> She punched him in the face, and his head bounced against the asphalt. The anger inside her was the only thing she could focus on beyond the sight of the man in front of her.
> 
> “My parents!” She yelled in pain. “My whole world!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, here’s my plan. I am posting a second chapter today and will be skipping my usual Thursday post this week. I have a lot to get done for my grad school applications, so I’m going to try and take tomorrow to get some of it done, whereas I would typically post chapters of my stories. I will try to post this weekend if I can swing it.
> 
> I will see you all in a few days!

Anger. Pain. Loss.

Kara could feel nothing else as she flew across town to find the man that had caused her to lose everything a second time.

As soon as Natasha and Clint had mentioned where they’d left the former government agent, she’d used her superspeed to break through a window and leave the tower. She could hear her team, her friends, calling for her, but she didn’t—couldn’t—find it in her to care.

Arriving at the motel, she used her vision to find which room he was in. It was a horrible motel, the kind where scumbags brought their hookups before never seeing them again. On the first floor, she caught sight of two figures moving rhythmically on a bed. A few rooms over, a woman was cooking food for her baby while keeping her toddler busy with the television. The floor above only had one occupant, who Kara could see was handcuffed and trapped to the pipes under the sink in the bathroom.

This had to be Agent Jones.

Flying forward, she blasted her body through the door and sped through the room, grabbing his body and created a hole in the back wall as she flew out into the parking lot behind it. She threw his body on the ground, and they rolled as she failed to slow her descent.

Getting her bearing more quickly than the other man, she crawled on top of him. “Do you have any idea what you did to me? You made me lose them…again!”

She punched him in the face, and his head bounced against the asphalt. The anger inside her was the only thing she could focus on beyond the sight of the man in front of her.

“My parents!” She yelled in pain. “My whole world!”

She punched him multiple times before standing and dragging his body to hang in front of her own. She barely recognized the sound of the Quinjet landing not far from them, along with a few armored suits as she did so.

“And you think that I’m going to let you and those other stupid HYDRA goons take this world away from me, too? You think I’m going to let you hurt them like you hurt me? Never!” She punched him again, and his head flopped backward.

Then she picked up his body and threw it across the parking lot.

Running off the jet, Steve froze as he saw them fighting. “Kara, no!”

Standing, the muscular agent sneered. “You stupid girl. Have you any idea what you’ve been doing? Trying to take down all the HYDRA bases?”

“Yes, I’m stopping you.”

“Your mother believed she could stop your world from ending…and she failed.” He taunted, having read her files at SHIELD.

“I won’t.” Kara flew forward and punched him. “Because I’ve known pain. But I’ve also known love. And the people here are my family. I may have been born on Krypton, but I choose Earth. And I will protect it until my last breath.”

She punched him again, and he looked up at her from the ground. “From what I’ve read about your kind, you have the hubris of the ‘great House of El’ which blinds you to the truth. Humanity, if left unchecked, is a disease. HYDRA is the cure.”

“No!”

“Kara!”

Finally, all other sound broke through her mind, and she gasped in a breath. Staring at the man, she took a deep, steadying breath while Steve ran to stand beside her. The heat that had filled her eyes slowly dissipated, and she blinked in order to bring herself back to reality.

Realizing what she had almost just done, Kara looked at the man. “You know nothing about the House of El or my home. You will not do to Earth what I witnessed on Krypton. We will find all of the HYDRA bases, and you will be a footnote in history once again.”

Walking forward, she grabbed the handcuffs that were hanging off of one of his wrists and closed it over the other. Then she forced him to stand and walked him over to Rhodey. Eyeing her carefully, the older man took him from her and nodded.

“I got him.” He told her. “Are you okay?”

“He will never hurt anyone, ever again.” She told him.

Knowing that was as much of an answer as he would get, Rhodey shoved the guy in front of him to get him to the cops. Kara felt Steve walk up behind her, and she all but melted as his hand grabbed her wrist.

“I’m sorry.” She said without turning around. “I lost control.”

“We all lose control at some point.” He reassured her. “Even Supergirl.”

“That all sounds very human, Steve.” She looked down. “But I’m not human.”

“Listen, Kara; you are human.”

“Steve-”

He turned her around so that they were face to face. “You _are_ human. So get angry. Be happy and be sad. Crack, crumble, cry…until your heart isn’t heavy anymore. If you have to, make people regret ever wronging you. You are not weak for feeling things. Because even though you are an alien, you _are_ human.”

“But…I’m supposed to be better than that.”

Steve sighed. “Sometimes, when everything you love has been stolen from you, all you have left is revenge.”

“I love you. I’m sorry that I scared you.” She put her hand on his face and tried to smooth out the worried wrinkle that looked so out of place by his eyes.

“None of that was your fault.” He reminded her. “I promise we will take HYDRA down. What they did to you…”

Shaking her head, she dropped her hand so that she could lace her fingers with his. “Can we just go home?”

Nodding, he secured his shield to the back of his suit. “Anything you want.”

Laying her forehead against his, she held him, grabbed the back of his uniform under the shield, and shot into the air. Below them, the other Avengers watched in silence while trying to diffuse the current situation.


	8. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Mama? Are you okay?” Layna asked, having not seen her mother since she’d arrived home.
> 
> Kara smiled and nodded. “I am now. And it would not be bad to ask about Krypton, sweetheart. You may not have been born there, but it is your home all the same.”
> 
> “Can you tell me sometime?” The little girl asked, causing Kara to smile.
> 
> “Is this morning too soon?”

By the time everyone returned to the tower, Pepper and Layna had returned from their trip. Though the redhead had been given the full version of the story, Layna had only been told an abridged version. It was early in the morning as the clean-up had taken a long time, and Layna would need to get ready for school soon.

Whether or not Steve and Kara would be helping was yet to be known.

As they walked on to the main floor, everyone dispersed to their own rooms, and Tony looked around before setting his eyes on Pepper. “Welcome home.” He kissed her.

“Thanks. It’s nice to be back, though I hear some crazy events were happening while I was away?” She asked him seriously.

“You’ve seen them, I guess?” He wondered, curious as to how his sister was handling everything.

Shaking her head, Pepper looked sad. “Actually, no. We arrived not too long ago, and JARVIS filled Happy and I in on everything. We gave Layna a different version.”

“Uncle Tony!”

Turning, Tony put a smile on his face as he hugged his niece. “Well, hi there. I’m guessing someone missed me?”

The dark-haired ten-year-old nodded enthusiastically then put a sad look on her face. “Something happened to Mama.”

Looking down at her, Tony crouched so that he could be face to face with her. “Yeah, honey. A bad guy got into her head and made her see some things that weren’t really there.”

“Krypton.” Layna nodded. “I know. Aunt Pepper told me.”

He saw a question lingering in her eyes and lifted her chin. “You know your mom is going to be okay, right?” She nodded. “Then what’s going on in that brain of yours?”

Layna hesitated before sighing and looking earnestly at Tony. “I just…would it be bad to ask her what it was like?”

Tony sighed. “Layna…”

“No, it wouldn’t be.”

Everyone looked up to see Steve and Kara standing on the stairs. They walked down slowly, and Kara brushed her hand over her daughter’s hair.

“Mama? Are you okay?” Layna asked, having not seen her mother since she’d arrived home.

Kara smiled and nodded. “I am now. And it would not be bad to ask about Krypton, sweetheart. You may not have been born there, but it is your home all the same.”

“Can you tell me sometime?” The little girl asked, causing Kara to smile.

“Is this morning too soon?” The Kryptonian asked, endeared by her daughter’s enthusiasm. “JARVIS?”

“Yes, miss?”

“Order a few of everything from the brunch menu from that diner down the street. We’re going to have a team brunch this morning.” Then she kissed her daughter’s head. “Then call Layna’s school and tell them she will not be in today.”

“Wait, I’m not going to school?” Layna asked her, confused.

Shaking her head, Kara looked up at the others. “I think it’s time that my family learned what my first home was like. _Our_ home, Layna.”

“As you wish,” JARVIS responded.

Smiling in their direction, Steve took his hands from his pockets. “I guess I don’t get any of the love, huh?”

“Dad…” Layna laughed as she sang out the word but went to hug him tightly. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, darling.” He kissed her hair. “Why don’t you get some shoes on and come with me to pick up the food? You can tell me all about your trip.”

Nodding, she pulled him along with her. Looking behind Tony’s back as he watched them go, Kara shared a look with Pepper, who understood what the woman wanted.

“Well, I am going to change and get settled before we start the festivities,” Pepper said, squeezing Tony’s hand. “I’ll see you guys in a little while?”

Then she was also gone, and Kara was left alone with Tony. Turning to face him, she sighed. “Hey, Tony?”

“Yeah? What’s up?” He asked as she walked to the bar to pour them both a drink.

Walking to him, she gripped his hand in her own. “Thank you. For pulling me out, I mean.”

“What? Oh, yeah. It was nothing.” He shrugged, playing the air of nonchalant.

“Listen, um, we need to talk about that ‘perfect fantasy world’ I was in…” She said quietly.

“Kara, we don’t need to discuss it,” Tony said quickly, but she gripped his hand again.

“I want to tell you why I imagined myself on Krypton.” She told him earnestly. “It’s not because I hate it here. It’s because the past few weeks I’ve been feeling…lost.”

“Lost?” Now she had his full attention.

Biting her lip, she sat on a barstool across from him. “Like I did when I first came to Earth. So I started fantasizing about the same things I used to back then.

“But I chose to come back because I realized that I belong here with you. My family.” She sighed. “I guess it’s true what they say.”

“Oh? What do they say?” He asked her.

“There’s no place like home.” She smirked, and he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, God, _please_ do not start singing.” He teased her. “Why do I put up with you again?”

“Because I’m your sister, and you love me.” She smiled brightly at him.

He tapped his finger against the bar. “But seriously, I’m sorry that this happened to you. Krypton…it was beautiful.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” She nodded. “It was exactly as I remember it.”

“I’m sorry that you had to leave there and come back to…well, this.” He gestured around them.

“No, don’t feel that way. Do I wish Krypton still existed? Of course, I do. Are there things I wish I could do or see back there that I never got the chance to? Unbelievably.

“But if I hadn’t come here, there are so many more things I wouldn’t have. I would never have been given the most amazing child in the universe. I would never have met Steve or found friends like Kit and the other Avengers. And, maybe second, if not most importantly, I never would have gotten the best brother anyone could ever have.

“So yes, as much as I will always miss Krypton and the family that I lost there…I will always be grateful that it brought me to this.” She used the same tone he had to describe their home.

“Come on; you would have been just fine without me.” He shrugged and resumed making their drinks.

“Tony, the only reason I even became Supergirl in the first place…was to save _you_.” She reminded him. “No matter how much I miss my parents or my cousin, I don’t think I could ever have had a life even close to how satisfied I am now if I didn’t have you. One of these days, I promise I will get you to believe that.”

Staring back at her, Tony just smirked as footsteps were heard above them.

“So,” Clint said as he dropped down from the vent. “I heard there was going to be food and alien talk.”

“Clint, could you be any less subtle?” Natasha asked as she walked into the room with Rhodey behind her.

“Yeah, right, like Kara didn’t hear him coming from a mile away.” He rolled his eyes. “She _still_ won’t tell me the extent of all of her powers.”

“Are you still on that?” Tony added to the group, winking at her. “You really should just give it up.”

“Speaking of giving something up, who the hell drinks whiskey at ten o’clock on a Monday morning?” Sam commented on the drink that Tony held.

Bruce chuckled. “Come on, Sam. You’ve been around long enough now to know that Tony does. At least he isn’t in the lab like he usually is, going on a few days with no sleep.”

“Does anyone know how to work the coffee mechanism?” Thor’s voice boomed out. “I wish to have some but was told I was not allowed to use it anymore.”

“Well, yeah, that makes sense considering you broke the last three pots we had.” Natasha shook her head, gesturing for him to follow her.

Laughing, Kara grabbed the mimosa from the bar and shook her head. It might not have been the polished nature of her Kryptonian background, but it was undeniably home.


	9. A Blast from the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Tony and Kara,
> 
> "In the past few months, you have grown so much closer than I could have hoped. Because of this, I thought it was time to write this letter so that one day you would finally know everything. Your mother and I will be leaving in a few short days for our trip, and though we have told you it was a vacation, it is far more than that."

Kara stared at her computer screen as her eye blinked slowly. It was getting to be eight o’clock at night, and most of her staff had gone home already or were on their way out. Being the head of the IT department, Kara had taken it upon herself to spend more time in the office where she would usually take the work home with her.

It had been about two months since she had been under the effects of the Black Mercy, and she wasn’t afraid to admit that both her fantasy and the after-effect had caused some turmoil within her mind. As that was the case, she had decided to let the other Avengers continue their missions to take down several HYDRA bases and search for Loki’s scepter.

She missed being Supergirl, but going back to the smaller rescues seemed to help calm her mind and remind her how far she had come and why she became an Avenger in the first place.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when her phone alerted her to a text message, and she grabbed it without hesitation.

**_From: World’s Biggest Annoyance_ **

_Back from mission. No scepter._

Sighing deeply, Kara shook her head. They’d been searching for the scepter since the SHIELD reveal, as it had suspiciously gone missing shortly after, but they had so far not had any luck.

**_To: World’s Biggest Annoyance_ **

_Did you guys eat yet?_

**_From: World’s Biggest Annoyance_ **

_Yeah, we ate._

**_To: World’s Biggest Annoyance_ **

_Cereal and alcohol don’t count, Tony._

**_From: World’s Biggest Annoyance_ **

_Buzzkill._

**_To: World’s Biggest Annoyance_ **

_Train wreck._

**_From: World’s Biggest Annoyance_ **

_Found a box of Dad’s old SHIELD stuff locked away at the base. Get over here so we can open it._

Kara’s heart sped up at the mention of her father’s belongings and wondered what it could be. Knowing Howard, it could be anything from a new cocktail recipe to the equation to a cure for cancer. Without wasting any time, she grabbed her purse and hurried out of the office.

Twenty minutes later, she was rushing into the tower, having left most of her work things in her car. She found everyone in the living room waiting for her, relaxed but sitting around a crate that was clearly labeled ‘PROPERTY OF HOWARD STARK: SHIELD.’

“Have you opened it yet?” She asked in lieu of a greeting, and Steve shook his head.

“We figured we would wait for you.” He told her. “Plus, we thought maybe you could scan it first to make sure nothing will explode when we do.”

“Good call.” Nodding, Kara set her purse on the table and slid her glasses off so she could check. “Nothing explosive that I can see. It just looks like a bunch of papers, files, and some models of old Stark tech.”

Looking at her brother, she nodded her agreement, and he unlatched the crate. Flopping open the lid, everyone reached in to grab various items. Kara sat on the floor next to it, her legs curled to her right as she was wearing a light blue button-down shirt dress. Reaching in, she pulled out a notebook and started flipping through it.

“Oh, Rao.” Kara breathed out in shock.

Looking over at her, Sam furrowed his brow while turning the pages in his own notebook. “What do you have there?”

Kara ran her fingers over the equations copied inside and smiled. “The first time I ever met my father, Kit and I were on a field trip with our science and technology class. I was sort of a nerd for this stuff, and I noticed that something was off about one of the equations they had written for a weapon and got a little…carried away, I guess. Obie, the asshole, called me out in front of everyone, but then my father stepped in and saw that I was right. He took the notebook from me and gave me a new one.

“I guess as much of an asshole as Obie was, he brought Dad’s attention to me. He may not have known I was in the system, or have cared, if we hadn’t met eye to eye that day.” She sighed. “Man, he even has notes in the margins.”

“Yeah, yeah. Rub it in.” Tony said, not looking at her.

She knew that he still felt slighted by their father, and though she knew now that she was only special to the man because he knew of her history, she agreed with her brother and felt for him. “What is that you have there, Tones?”

Looking up at Rhodey gratefully, Tony tapped the envelope against his palm. “It looks like a letter. I haven’t opened it yet.”

“It’s addressed to both you and Kara,” Bruce noted as he looked over his friend’s shoulder.

Kara waved her hand in a signal to open it, so Tony ripped the yellowing paper and opened the note. “This is dated right before they took that last trip…”

Kara’s heart clenched painfully. “Read it?”

Tony nodded and began.

_“Tony and Kara,_

_In the past few months, you have grown so much closer than I could have hoped. Because of this, I thought it was time to write this letter so that one day you would finally know everything. Your mother and I will be leaving in a few short days for our trip, and though we have told you it was a vacation, it is far more than that._

_If you’re reading this without me, it means I was not there to give you this information myself. For that, I am truly sorry. I write this letter in the hopes that it will never have to be read but instead spoken aloud by your mother, aunt, and myself._

_You may or may not know that I work alongside your Aunt Peggy at a government agency that we created called the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. We founded this agency in the hopes of protecting our world from greater security threats than anybody could fathom. We knew these risks existed because of the events that transpired while fighting alongside Captain America._

_There was, however, so much that we did not have any clue about. Things that your aunt and I agreed were far too sensitive for us to be able to trust the rest of our agency. These are the things I truly wish I could have told you about before now. Unfortunately, as the founder of an agency devoted to security and protection, I cannot divulge these secrets within this letter._

_We did, however, create a safe space for these secrets to remain hidden until such day that you were ready to understand them. I suppose since you are reading this letter, that day is today._

_Enclosed here are a set of keys that open a secure warehouse, inside which you will find answers to the questions I have not been able to answer for you. Though you do not know each other well yet, I know that you both have questions—different in nature but equally as important. I do hope that this will be the bridge that connects everything you wish to know._

_For what it’s worth: it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find that you are not, I hope you have the strength to start over. Starting over can be daunting and scary, but Kara is proof that it can be done. I only wish I could be there to see it._

_Dad”_

The silence that hung over the group was louder than the thunder in the chests of both remaining Stark children. Tony tipped the envelope over, and a small set of old keys fell into his hand. He looked at his sister with a confused expression and shrugged.

Frowning, Kara dug through the crate until she came across a folded piece of thick paper. Pulling it out, she spread it over her lap and raised her eyebrows. “It’s a map of the warehouses upstate.”

The thought hit them both at the same time, and they locked eyes.

“The warehouse we can’t get into.” Tony shook his head.

“I bet those go to the lockbox on the outside,” Kara smirked.

Standing, Tony cracked his back. “Okay, new plan. You kids sit tight and don’t mess with tv. It keeps getting stuck on an endless loop of Game of Thrones. Just ask JARVIS to set it for you, I am begging you.”

“What are you going to do?” Rhodey asked him quickly.

“My sister and I are going for a little fly.” He told his friend before addressing his sister. “How long until you’ll be ready to leave, short-stuff?”

When he looked up at her, she was already in her suit and tapping her foot. “I’m waiting on you, old man.”


	10. This Is Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turning, Kara froze as she took in what Howard and Peggy had hidden away.
> 
> “Oh, Rao.”
> 
> “What the hell is this stuff?” Tony’s voice echoed off the walls of the large space.
> 
> Kara let out a stunned breath. “This…this is my story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter always hits me right in the feels.
> 
> Title is taken from the song of the same name from "The Greatest Showman."

Flying through the air with her big brother was something that Kara hadn’t realized she’d missed as much as she did now. Tony, covered in his latest mark up for the Iron Man suit, spun in a circle around her, causing her to laugh; something that felt genuine for the first time in a while.

“Showoff.” She laughed into her comm as he blasted ahead of her.

“Stick in the mud.” His tinny voice responded, turning his head to look back at her.

Pushing herself to go faster, she shook her head. “You know it sure would be a shame if something like my heat vision were to ‘accidentally’ hit your power functions right now.”

“Don’t even think about it, blondie.” He retorted. “You break my suit; you fix it.”

“In your dreams, maybe.” She smiled. “Though my upgrade would probably be way better, let’s be honest.”

“Okay, now you’re in _your_ dreams.” He told her before hovering in the suit and gesturing to the now-dark sky in front of them. “We’re here.”

Nodding, Kara shot toward the ground and landed softly on the grass outside of the warehouse they were seeking out. She waited as Tony landed beside her and pulled out the keys. He made quick work of inserting the correct one into the lock, and then he swung the panel open.

“Well, this seems a little overboard.” He quipped.

“I mean, not really.” She shrugged. “This is Dad and Aunt Peggy we’re talking about.”

Underneath the locked panel held two different types of scanners. One was a palm scanner; the other used voice recognition. Above them, a small security camera turned to face the man in red. Stepping up to it, Tony placed his hand on the scanner and waited.

_“Please state your full name.”_

“Tony Stark.”

_“Access denied.”_

Tony rolled his eyes. “Anthony Edward Stark.”

_“Access granted.”_

Then the camera turned on Kara, who followed suit.

_“Please enter your full name.”_

“Kara Stark.”

_“Access denied.”_

“What?” Kara pulled her hand back. “But that’s my name.”

Tony narrowed his eyes at the machine. “Try again.”

_“Please state your full name.”_

“Kara Stark.”

_“Access denied.”_

“Of course, this thing is faulty; it’s decades old.” Tony started ranting. “I’m going to try blasting it open.”

“Wait,” Kara told him, holding her hand out to him.

“Why?” He wondered, his arm held up with his blasters ready.

“Starting over…” She whispered to herself.

“What was that?” Tony was confused, but Kara didn’t stop to explain her action.

Walking up to the panel, she tried again.

_“Please state your full name.”_

“Kara Zor-El.”

_“Access granted.”_

The scanners shut off, and a loud mechanical whirring noise reached their ears. Then a large section of the wall slid open, and they were faced with vast dark space. Using her vision, Kara searched for a light switch.

“The lever for the electricity is over there.” She pointed to his left as they walked inside.

Walking over, he pulled the large lever down, and the room lit up, the panel sliding shut behind them. Turning, Kara froze as she took in what Howard and Peggy had hidden away.

“Oh, Rao.”

“What the hell is this stuff?” Tony’s voice echoed off the walls of the large space.

Kara let out a stunned breath. “This…this is my story.”

She looked at everything slowly, as if they were made of sand and would blow away at the slightest breeze. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing and caught the emotion in her throat before it could come out.

The back wall was lined with star charts of her galaxy. The other walls were lined with trophy cases that held several glowing rocks, all of different colors. She didn’t see the small pieces of red and green until it was too late.

Hissing in a breath, she felt the wooziness hit her just before Tony yanked her away and sighed. “Kryptonite.”

“Yeah, try staying away from that.” He grunted. “What’s the red stuff?”

Kara shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well…stay away from that, too.” He told her before walking away. “These star charts aren’t our solar system.”

Walking over, Kara pointed to a small planet on one side. “That’s Krypton.”

Then she walked away as he started speaking again. “Wait, so this is all that remains of Krypton? These people thought they were invincible, but they weren’t, so now all this stuff is just lying around here?”

“The earth is littered with the ruins of empires that believed they were eternal.” Kara shrugged. “My planet is no different.”

“So, Dad’s letter. All of this…was about you?”

“Us, Tony.” She reminded him. “He said we both had questions back then. I’m assuming yours were about why they adopted me out of the blue. Mine…”

“Were about Krypton and keeping your secret.” He finished for her. “But what I don’t understand is why they had to keep this stuff hidden. SHIELD already knew about you, the Kryptonite, and where you were from…why did they need a whole warehouse for-”

As he turned, he got his answer. In the middle of the room, Kara removed what had previously looked like a pile of tarps revealing the hidden treasure underneath: her pod.

_Her pod._

Running her fingers over it gently, she felt her eyes water up as she pressed a spot on the side and the shield went up, revealing the inside. Looking down at it, she reached in lifting the white fabric that had been folded and laid on the seat.

She felt Tony walk up quietly behind her, and looked up to the ceiling to blink the tears away. “This is why they needed the warehouse.”

“Is that-”

She nodded. “I came here in this pod. Crashed is probably the more accurate term.”

“You spent ten years in that thing just floating around outer space?” He asked her, his own memories of going through the wormhole during the battle against Loki filling his mind.

“Yeah, but I was asleep for most of it. Thank Rao for that.”

Putting his hand on her shoulder, he gestured to the object she held in her hands. “What’s that?”

“This was the tunic I was wearing when I left.” She gripped it tightly in her fingers. “Tony, this warehouse…”

“Won’t be torn down.” He told her seriously. “We will figure out what to do with it, but for now…it stays as it is. This is your story, Kara. I would never try to get rid of that.”

Smiling up at him, she laid her head on his shoulder. “Can we go home now?”

Nodding, they walked together back to the entrance. Flipping the lever again, Tony plunged the room into darkness, and the door slid open for them. As they got outside, Tony locked the panel and turned to her.

“Race you there?”

“Tony, I’m an alien with superspeed.” She smirked. “I’m pretty sure I can guess who’s going to win this race.”

His faceplate slid down. “Well, we’re scientists. Let’s test that theory, shall we?”

Then he flew into the sky and left her behind. Taking in a deep breath, Kara held the tunic tightly in her hands and smiled softly at the stars. “Thanks, Dad.”

Then, in the same fashion as her brother, she shot into the sky and wasted no time in rushing past the red and gold man with a grin on her face.


	11. A Nice Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m confused.”
> 
> “Hi, Confused. I’m Hawkeye.”
> 
> “Shut up!”

After they had arrived home, Tony packed up the crate and helped Bruce carry it down to their lab while Kara changed into comfortable clothes. Because it was late, and she had been in uncomfortable clothes all day, she chose to bundle up in a brown striped long-sleeved sweater with a pair of gray sweatpants that belonged to Steve. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and glanced at the tunic she had laid on their bed.

The thought had briefly crossed her mind that it was about the right size for Layna, but she wasn’t sure that she could give up something so personal just yet, even if it was for her daughter. Everything that she had of Krypton now had either belonged to their palace (in the case of her pod) or her mother (in the case of her necklace). The tunic was the only thing she had that had belonged to her alone, and though it seemed selfish somehow, she didn’t want to share it yet. Breathing in a calming sigh, she smiled as she heard her friends arguing below her about the reality, or lack thereof, in reality shows and decided she could decide what to do with her tunic later.

When the guys got back from the lab, Kara was curled up on the couch with Steve; a blanket draped over her lap as everyone waited to hear what they had found in the warehouse. “Okay, next time, Steve and Kara get to carry the heavy things.”

Smiling at her brother, Kara rolled her eyes. “Are you saying you can’t handle any heavy lifting?”

Everyone laughed as he ignored her comment and settled in a chair near Rhodey. “So, what are we talking about?”

“We were waiting for you guys so you and Kara could tell us what you found upstate.” His friend reminded him quickly.

“Yeah, what was in there?” Clint questioned as he reached toward the table for a handful of popcorn that someone had made while they were away.

Tony gestured to his sister, who shrugged. “My stuff.”

Staring at her, Natasha leaned forward. “I’m confused.”

“Hi, Confused. I’m Hawkeye.”

“Shut up!”

The chorus of everyone yelling at Clint made Kara laugh as Bruce faced her. “But seriously, what do you mean?”

“It was my stuff…the things that fell with me when I came from Krypton.” She told them and watched as their faces expressed everything from shock to pity.

“I thought everything from Krypton had been destroyed.” Thor wondered. “What was it that you found?”

“You mean other than Kryptonite?” Tony grunted.

Steve instantly leaned forward to look down at his girlfriend in concern. “What?”

Pushing him back down so she could resume her comfortable place against his chest, Kara glared at her brother. “It was only a small rock, and it barely even affected me.”

“What else did you find?” Rhodey asked her, knowing she wanted to change the topic.

Looking at him gratefully, she picked at the edge of her blanket. “My pod.”

“The one that brought you here,” Natasha stated, a slight tone of awe detected in her voice.

“It survived the crash?” Bruce was suddenly looking like he wanted to press her for more information but was trying his best to keep it to himself.

Laughing at his enthusiasm, she nodded. “We can go back soon, Bruce. I’ll let you study the hell out of it.”

He winced a bit, knowing now how transparent he’d been, but she waved him off. “Yeah, it survived. Kryptonian technology was extremely advanced compared to what we have here. It was built to survive a trip like that.”

“That’s incredible.” He muttered to himself as he stood and walked to the bar.

Tony agreed. “I’ve never seen anything like it, to tell you the truth.”

“How do you feel after seeing all of that?” Natasha asked her, showing a rare side of emotion.

Kara shrugged again. “Honestly, I’m not sure. It definitely caught me off guard, that’s for sure. But seeing those things again…I thought they had been lost after SHIELD found me. I made myself accept the fact that something like my pod would have been studied and then most likely dismantled or destroyed. I didn’t think I’d get the chance to see it again.

“I don’t know; it’s a weird combination of nostalgia and pain. I’m glad to have them back, but at the same time, it reminds me of everything I lost. I guess I just need some time to figure out how I feel about it.”

“That’s totally understandable,” Sam told her, ever the shrink. “After what you went through, it’s normal to need time to figure that out.”

“But you know what helps with that?” Clint smirked. “Alcohol!”

As everyone agreed, Kara pouted. “Not fair, you guys know that stuff doesn’t work on me!”

Bruce walked over while everyone chuckled and handed her a glass. “Try that.”

“What is it?” She eyed it curiously.

“A little concoction I put together.” He told her. “Just test it out and see what you think.”

“Oh, well. At least I can watch you idiots get drunk and have things to hold over you later.” She teased.

Downing the glass like a shot, she shook her head before slowly blinking. Sitting up, Steve looked at her in confusion as her body had frozen against his.

“Are you okay?” He asked her.

Bruce smiled. “How do you feel?”

She took in a breath. “Floaty.” She moved her lips in a weird way and then started laughing. “But, I’m not floating!”

“Oh, my God.” Tony sat forward in shock. “Are you drunk?”

“Hey, there’s my brother!” Kara laughed back at him, making the team smile and laugh.

“What was that stuff?” Steve asked Bruce, holding her body steady as they leaned back against the couch.

“I was working on a few experiments with different substances, and when I studied this one, I realized it was basically like alcohol, but it would kill anyone who drank it. Anyone that was a normal human, that is.”

“And if there’s one thing I’m not, it’s human.” Kara slurred the words together.

“Wait, are you slurring your words?” Tony asked seriously.

“Am I?” She wondered. “Cho-co-late.”

“Wow.” Tony’s smile was massive. “Kara Stark drunk; that’s a first.”

Kara snorted out a laugh as Rhodey shook his head. “We should probably call Layna’s friend’s place to see if she can stay the night. There’s no way we’re letting you drive in this state.”

“And I’m not flying, that’s for sure!” She laughed again, settling against Steve. Then she shot up suddenly and stared at them.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked her quickly, placing a hand on her back to steady her in case they needed to get up. “Do you feel sick?”

“Potstickers!” She shouted. “And ice cream!”

“JARVIS?” Tony chuckled. “You get that?”

“Placing the order now, sir.”

Chuckling, Clint leaned against the back of his seat. “Well, at least she’s consistent.”


	12. Truth Hurts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looking over at the window, Kara stood in the open doorway, one hand on her hip. She was dressed in an all-black jumpsuit, with her Kryptonian symbol embroidered in red just under her right shoulder.

As Steve had kept up his habit of getting up early and working out, Kara was used to setting an alarm clock to wake her in time for work. Usually, she let it buzz for a few seconds before turning it off and slowly starting her day.

That was not the case on this particular day.

The moment the alarm blared, Kara’s hand came down on it hard, smashing it into pieces. Stalking over to her closet, she looked at each piece of clothing she had and pondered on her outfit for the day. Laying out a cardigan and skirt, she tilted her head and stared at it for a moment before tapping her foot.

“Hm…nope.”

Walking back to her closet, she went through her clothes again before her eyes landed on a black sleeveless blouse and a black skirt with small white lines on it that created a geometric pattern. She then slipped a pair of black heels onto her feet and stood. Happy with her choice, she changed quickly before grabbing her purse.

“Miss Stark, may I remind you that you promised to meet Captain Rogers in the kitchen before you left for work this morning,” JARVIS said as she walked out of her bedroom.

Pausing, Kara rolled her eyes. “JARVIS, why don’t you try staying out of it.”

Then she closed her door and walked down the hallway on her way to work. She didn’t bother to stop in the kitchen to see Steve or even to let JARVIS tell him she wouldn’t be going.

* * *

Arriving at work, Kara stepped off the elevator and looked at her assistant as she walked past her. “Morning.”

As she walked across the department on her way to her office, everyone looked up from their desks, staring at their boss. This was the boldest outfit she’d ever worn, and though they would never question one of the owners of the company, they were shocked by her new reveal.

“Whoa, Kara. Nice outfit.” Hillary, a long-time coworker, told her as she walked past her.

Kara shrugged. “I was getting sick of my old clothes.”

“I bet Tony had some jokes on your way out this morning, huh?” The woman smiled, but Kara leveled her with a piercing glare.

“Tony does not dictate what I do or what I wear.” She snapped at her friend. “Also, don’t you have that project I gave you? You should be working on that instead of commenting on what your boss is wearing.”

As the Kryptonian spoke, Hillary felt both embarrassed and hurt. Kara had never acted this way, and they had known each other from the day they started in the department together.

Seeing the woman’s expression, Kara raised an eyebrow. “Oh, don’t pout.” She paused. “Or do, I don’t really care.”

Then she walked into her office, leaving behind a department full of stunned and confused employees.

* * *

It was two in the afternoon when Pepper hurried into the IT department. As soon as Kara’s assistant saw her, she pointed to her office and watched as the redhead made her way there. It had been a long day with Kara’s new attitude, and nobody could explain what had gone on overnight.

Kara had berated many employees in the department by then and had screamed so loudly it could be heard through the glass that separated her office from the main floor. Three different departments had called down for help and had been verbally bashed to the point of the call ending in a dial tone. The morale of all employees had decreased more severely than anyone had ever seen.

As Pepper stormed through the door to Kara’s office, the blonde rolled her eyes. “I guess we aren’t knocking anymore.”

“What is happening down here?” Pepper asked her quickly. “Robert in R&D quit after your phone call this morning, and I just got resignation emails from three members in this department!”

“Oh, boo-hoo. There’s a line a block long looking to work here.” Kara sighed and leaned back in her desk chair. “It’s probably better that they quit anyway. We don’t need any crybabies on our staff.”

“What the hell has gotten into you?” Pepper asked in shock. “This isn’t you, Kara. Was it something to do with Bruce’s alcohol?”

“Oh, sure!” Kara stood and threw her arms out. “I get drunk one time, and suddenly I’m a bad guy, but Tony does it all the time, and he’s a fucking saint. But sure, let’s just ignore that, shall we?”

“Kara!” The other woman shouted at her. “This is not acceptable. This isn’t how we do our jobs!”

“How about you just get off my back for once, Virginia.” Kara spat out, using the woman’s real name. “You walk around here like you’re better than everyone else. You’re always coming down on this department and me whenever the slightest thing goes wrong, and I’m tired of it! I’m sorry that sometimes errors occur, but Rao forbid I call people out on their mistakes. You want to try and keep this department running, go try it yourself!”

“That was uncalled for,” Pepper told her, hurt by her actions. “You know how hard that would be for me.”

“You don’t think it’s hard for me too?” Kara shouted at her. “Not only do I run the department that basically keeps this whole company up and running, but I also have to raise and ten-year-old and fight crime on a daily basis! How is that for hard?”

“You are way out of line!” Pepper shouted back, now angry. “I don’t know what has gotten into you, but you need to go home and figure it out.”

Glaring at her, Kara nearly growled. “Just because you are sleeping with my brother and became CEO of this place, that doesn’t make you my boss! This is _my_ company. So don’t think for one second you have any control over me.”

Then she grabbed her purse. “But fine. I think I will take the day off. As I said, I have two other jobs that don’t give me any recognition either. May as well go try those out for a bit.”

She shoved past Pepper’s shoulder on her way out and glared at anyone who accidentally made eye contact with her. When she made it out to the parking garage, she was so angry she threw the side of her fist into the concrete wall before walking away and getting into her car.

She didn’t need this job anyway, she told herself. If she can’t make her own decisions, she might as well not be there at all.

* * *

Steve was rushing down the hallway when he nearly toppled into Tony as they entered the living room.

“What the hell is going on?” Tony asked him, bewildered. “Pepper just called saying that Kara’s out of her mind?”

“Layna’s school just called and said she stopped by there and sent Layna home with a friend before screaming at the secretary for giving her a hard time about it,” Steve told him, a worried look on his face. “They said her eyes started burning. I had to talk them out of pressing charges!”

“What the fuck is going on with her?” The elder Stark asked his teammate as a breeze came into the room. “What the hell…”

Looking over at the window, Kara stood in the open doorway, one hand on her hip. She was dressed in an all-black jumpsuit, with her Kryptonian symbol embroidered in red just under her right shoulder. A few feet from her, a pile of her clothes were strewn across the floor.

“Hello, brother.” She said in a snarky voice. “Look! I picked out my own outfit without any fashion advice from anyone else!”

Then she stalked toward them. “All those years you and Kit and Rhodey have pushed those dowdy sweaters and shirts on me to ‘keep me safe.’” She raised her hands to show she was quoting him. “Trying to cloak my beauty…or rather, my intelligence so I don’t outshine yours.”

She lit her eyes unexpectedly and set the clothes on fire. Running forward, Tony grabbed the fire extinguisher they kept hidden in the room and put the flames out while Steve looked at her. “Kara, this isn’t you.”

“I’m more me than I’ve ever been.” She laughed, holding her arms out to the side of her.

“Hey, cut the shit, Kara,” Tony told her immediately. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I don’t like it.”

“Babe, you need to calm down and let us help you,” Steve said quietly.

“You aren’t seeing clearly,” Tony told her.

She whipped around and stared at him in a bout of anger. “Oh, I see clearly. I see how you’ve always been jealous of me! You pressed for me to become Supergirl and then did nothing but hold me back. You didn’t want me to become an Avenger. You hid me from that mission because you weren’t chosen, and I was! You didn’t want me to take your limelight by really showing off my powers.

“I can fly. I can catch bullets with my bare hands. And that makes you feel worthless.” She was directly in his face now.

“No, I’m proud of you.” He told her. “You know I am.”

“Then, when you couldn’t stop me from doing that, you made your girlfriend my boss at my own company! All to retain some control.” She yelled at him. “You know that’s my name on the side of the building, too.”

She scoffed. “Those days are so over. I am finally free of you, and I’m ready to soar.” She turned to the window overlooking the city, hiding the red veins that were glowing on her face. “Look at that city. They worship me. And those who don’t, will.”

Staring at her carefully, Tony spoke. “Kara, just…please listen to yourself.”

“Oh, cut the big brother act, Tony.” She snapped, whipping around to face him again. “We have never been siblings. We don’t share blood. And you know what the sad truth is? Without me, you have no life. You would have no family, no friends, nobody to fall back on.

“And let’s be honest, you’ve always been jealous of me for grabbing Howard’s attention. All you ever wanted was to show how good you were, and who did he come to? Me. And that kills you.”

“Kara!” Steve tried to butt in and stop her, but she ignored him, keeping her eyes on Tony.

“Deep down, you hate me.” She told him and teased him when she saw the emotion on his face. “Aww, did I upset you?”

“That’s enough!” Steve yelled, getting between them.

Staring smugly at the billionaire, Kara shook her head and backed up to the window. “You know what they say: the truth hurts.”

Then she shot into the sky and left the two most important men in her life standing silent and shocked in her wake.


	13. Krypton vs. Asgard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Like I said…nothing on Earth can stop me.”
> 
> “Maybe not.” A voice said from behind her. “But I am not of this Earth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some of you were hoping for a fight between Hulk and Supergirl, but I needed Bruce to make the antidote as he is pretty much the only one who would be able to, plus he hates having to Hulk out. I figured Thor vs. Kara was a good one though. I actually enjoyed writing that scene. I hope you enjoy it too!

“I’m sorry, she said what?”

It wasn’t long after Kara left that Steve and Tony had gathered the rest of the team and Pepper. After filling everyone in on what had happened, they all knew something wasn’t right with their resident alien.

Nodding, Steve addressed Rhodey’s shock at her non-sibling comments. “It was brutal. I don’t know what to do.”

Behind them, Tony looked up at them. “What we do, Spangles, is find out what happened to her and fix it.”

“Tony, you know she didn’t mean what she said.” Pepper said carefully.

“Of course, I know that.” He scoffed. “Never in her life has she acted this way. Something happened to her, and I want to know what so I can blast it to hell where it belongs.”

“Bruce, could it have been your drink?” Pepper asked, wincing as she remembered her conversation with Kara.

He shook his head instantly. “There’s nothing in it that would cause this. Maybe while she was drunk, though, we all clearly saw that she’s more of the hungry, silly drunk than anything. It definitely wouldn’t affect her this long afterward.”

“I have a theory.” Everyone turned to face Thor. “While reading through her Kryptonian texts, I found a section detailing different types of Kryptonite. You said there was some at the warehouse last night.”

“But Kryptonite weakens her.” Clint reminded him. “It doesn’t turn her into this.”

“The green K weakens her,” Thor told him before turning to Tony. “You mentioned there was a piece of green K exposed, along with another rock. Was it red?”

Tony froze. “Yes, actually. Kara said she didn’t know what it was, but it was the only other rock exposed. There were other colors there, too.”

The demigod nodded. “There are many types, according to the text. In this case, I think she was exposed to red K.”

“What does the red one cause, Thor?” Natasha asked quickly.

“It is said to turn the recipient evil.” He told her. “I am guessing that is what we are dealing with.”

“Son of a bitch.” Tony muttered. “How the hell are we going to fix that? She isn’t near it anymore, so it obviously isn’t going to wear off like green K does.”

“I might be able to make an antidote,” Bruce told him, causing everyone to look at him. “We took blood during the Black Mercy incident. I think I might be able to synthesize some of that sample and use it to overpower the red K.”

“How long would that take you?” Natasha asked.

Bruce shrugged. “Maybe twenty minutes?”

“Good,” Pepper told him as she looked up from her phone. “Because we just got an alert that Supergirl is at the new facility upstate.”

“Shit,” Tony called for a suit. “Suit up and meet me there.”

Nodding to them, he flew out the window and went as fast as he could to stop his sister. When he got there, he saw that she was waiting for him in the air above the warehouse. “Typical Tony, come to ruin all of my fun.”

“Kara, stop this.” He said through his mask. “I want to help you.”

“You want to cage me.” She told him. “You want me to be a stone, available whenever you need to skip it across a lake somewhere. Newsflash: you can’t get everything you want.” She smirked. “But I can.”

“This isn’t you!” He told her again. “You’re under the effect of red Kryptonite. It made you evil.”

She laughed. “All it did was show me the truth. You can’t stop me, Tony. No one can.”

Smiling, she used her heat vision and blasted the warehouse. Though the door didn’t open, the building started to catch on fire quickly. Then she flew forward and punched him, using her strength to drive him into the ground. At the same moment, the Quinjet flew up, and everyone but Rhodey jumped out.

“Rhodey’s waiting for Bruce,” Sam told him through the comm. “He’ll bring the antidote when it’s done.”

“Put the fire out!” Tony yelled in response, groaning as he held his injured arm. “If she loses anything from in there, she’ll be heartbroken when she wakes up from this.”

As the rest of the Avengers worked to put out the fire and save her belongings, Kara and Tony stared each other down. “Just give it up, Tony! You can’t win this fight!”

“Please, Kara. You have to stop before you do something you’ll regret.” He told her, lifting his faceplate.

Staring into his eyes, she smirked as her heat vision gathered. “Like I said…nothing on Earth can stop me.”

“Maybe not.” A voice said from behind her. “But I am not of this Earth.”

Her body flew forward, and she flew into the side of another building. Grunting, she fought against Thor as he held her down. “Kara, don’t do this.”

Yelling, she punched him and sent him flying into the air. Flying up after him, she went to throw a punch when he swung his hammer. This sent them both flying backward, but it only stalled them for a moment.

“This is not who you are, my friend,” Thor yelled at her. “Remember who you are!”

Hovering in the air in front of him, she laughed. “Are you going to lock me in a cell, too? Maybe make me roommates with Loki.”

“You are better than this.” He told her. “And I am sorry for this.”

Her expression faltered for only a second before lightning shot from his hammer and her body started to convulse, sending her into the ground. Her body shook in the middle of the crater she had created, and when it stilled, she groaned.

Trying to stand, she barely heard the sound of mechanical feet hitting the ground before she was blasted with a red laser, and she fell once more.

“That ought to cool you down a bit.” Rhodey sneered, holding a gun with the antidote in it.

Tony wasted no time in rushing to her, and he let his suit melt away from his body as he knelt beside her. She was lying completely still as a red smoke left her body and evaporated into the air. Reaching down quickly, he felt at her neck and breathed a sigh of relief at the pulse under his fingers.

“Tony?” Steve appeared above them, where the edge of the crater started.

He nodded. “She’s okay. Just unconscious.”

“Thank God.” The soldier murmured to himself. “Come on, let’s get you guys to the jet.”

Looking back down at his sister, Tony nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”


	14. Where Do We Go From Here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It was so horrible, Tony. It was so bad. It was so horrible. Every bad thought I’ve ever had, it just came to the surface. I couldn’t stop it.”

The first thing Kara registered was that her head hurt. Blinking her eyes open, she saw the ceiling of the med bay in the tower, and her memories came flooding into her brain. “Did I kill anyone?”

Beside her, Tony shook his head. “No. No, you didn’t kill anyone.”

Looking at him, her eyes filled with tears that she couldn’t hold back. “Your arm…”

“Broken bones heal,” he told her quickly. “and this will too.”

Bringing her hand up to cover her face, Kara started sobbing. “It was so horrible, Tony. It was so bad. It was so horrible. Every bad thought I’ve ever had, it just came to the surface. I couldn’t stop it.”

Her lip quivered as she looked at him again. “I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean what I said to you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for what I said.”

“Kara,” Tony said quietly. “you’re my sister, and I love you. No matter what.”

“Yeah.” At her hopeful look, Tony nodded and wiped a tear from her cheek. “But there’s some truth to what you said. We’re going to have to work on that.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, her eyes went wide. “The warehouse.”

He held up his good hand and helped her sit. “Thor and Bruce went to move it to a safer location. Everything inside was fine. The team saved the warehouse and your stuff.”

“I can’t believe this happened.” She put her head in her hands. “I had people at work quit because of me. I yelled at Pepper! I was so horrible to her, Tony.”

“Pep knows that wasn’t you.” He said honestly. “But maybe an apologetic brunch would help soften that blow.”

Smiling lightly at him, she sighed. “Where is he?”

Tony hesitated. “He’s in your bedroom. I wanted to be the one to see you when you woke up. Besides, I’m pretty sure he had some things to think about.”

“Tony…”

“It’s okay.” He told her. “We’re good. Go find Spangles.”

Sending him another apologetic look, she started to leave before turning back to her brother and engulfing him in a hug. He held her tightly with his uninjured arm and sighed. She kept her arms around him for another moment before moving back and looking sadly at him. Then hurried out of the room at a human pace and made her way up to their living quarters.

Entering her room, she grimaced at her reflection in the mirror. Wanting to forget that this event ever happened, she made quick work of changing into a white tank top and leggings. She covered herself with a gray cardigan and pulled the sides closed around the front of her body.

She pulled her hair into a bun and looked out onto the balcony, where she caught sight of Steve standing against the railing, looking out at the city. Biting her lip, she slowly went to join him.

“Hey.” He glanced at her as she copied his stance. “You okay?”

She shook her head. “No.”

Turning to face her, he nodded. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”

She let out a deep sigh and stared at the lights starting to light up the slowly darkening sky. “I love this city. The lights. All the windows. I love that behind every window, there’s a story. Someone’s eating take-out with their boyfriend. Someone’s playing board games with their kids.

“To me, every person in this city is a light. And every time I’ve helped one of them…a little bit of their light has become a part of me. I have never been happier than when I’ve been Supergirl.” She paused. “You know what I mean. I know what happened wasn’t exactly my fault; my brain was altered. But it brought something inside of me out that was mean and horrible. What I did to everyone-”

“Stop.” He put his arms around her and held her tightly. “No one blames you for this.”

“I feel like I broke everything.” She told him. “We were celebrating. We were actually starting to act like a team even more, and I took away the light of something that we were happy about and ruined it.”

“Well,” he sighed as he moved away from her. “the first step to fixing something is knowing that no matter how broken it seems, it can always be saved.”

“Can it? How do I even begin to save this, Steve?” She wondered, looking at the lights again.

“I’m hoping, by giving the team something else to celebrate and be happy about.” He said nervously.

“Like what?” Turning as she spoke, her body froze when she saw what was in front of her. “Is that…?”

Smiling, Steve nudged the box towards her on the ledge of the balcony wall. “This was my mother’s. After I went into the ice, my stuff went to Peggy, who saved it at SHIELD with my files. When I came back, Fury gave it to me.”

“Steve.” Kara’s voice was scared.

“Kara, God, I have been thinking about this moment for so long now that I forgot everything I’d practiced.” He laughed. “When you were under the Black Mercy’s influence, I thought I might not get you back. I know you couldn’t hear me then, but I made both of us a promise that if I got you back, I would propose. Then I didn’t, because I wanted to do the right thing and ask Tony for permission, and I almost lost you again.

“I am through waiting. I need you in my life, Kara. Forever. You and Layna are the most important people I have ever had in my life, and I want to make it official.” He smiled at the tears in her eyes.

“So…Kara Zor-El,” she choked out a sob as he used her birth name. “Will you marry me?”

Laughing, she waited until he slid the ring on her finger before she launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. When they pulled away, he looked at her expectantly.

“Is that a yes?”

Looking down at her new piece of jewelry, she scoffed at him. “If you think I’m ever giving you this ring back, you’re insane.” Then she kissed him. “Of course, that’s a yes, you old man.”

“Is the ring, okay?” He asked hesitantly. “I know there’s no gem, but we couldn’t afford much, and it was just a simple band that my mom wore all the time. It was the only thing I kept of hers when she died.”

She framed his face with her hands and kissed him again. “It’s perfect.”

They sat on the balcony for a long time together, enjoying the time they had to be alone. Curled up against his side on the couch they had out there, Kara giggled. “Did you actually ask Tony for his blessing?”

“I did.” Steve smiled and chuckled. “He was…surprisingly cool about it.”

“No way.” She shook her head. “I know he used at least three curse words and probably some horrible technology pun.”

“Actually, he was surprised I hadn’t done it sooner.” He told her. “He said that he, Sam, Clint, and Bruce had a bet going on when I would finally do it.”

Rolling her eyes, she grinned. “Okay, yeah, that sounds like him.”

“He also gave me the obligatory ‘you hurt her, I put you back into the ice’ speech, so at least there was that.” Steve joked.

“Okay, now that’s funny.” She chucked. “He always has been good with his one-liners.”

She paused for a second, and Steve looked at her curiously. “What’s up?”

“Well, according to my super hearing, a little firecracker just got home from her friend’s house and was set loose in the tower by her uncle.” Kara sighed. “What do you say we go and give everyone what they’ve been waiting for?”

Kissing her quickly, Steve nodded. “You know she’s going to scream the tower down.”

As they stood, Kara grabbed his hand so they could walk together. “Just the tower? I’m expecting a call from Odin on Asgard questioning the noise.”

Shaking his head, they left the room and went to find their family.


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they were talking in separate groups, a large gray portal opened in the living room. Looking up in shock, Kara’s eyes widened as two bodies jumped out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that's the end of this story. I'll post the beginning of the next one shortly!

When the happy couple finally got downstairs, they saw that everyone was sitting around the living room watching tv and eating leftover pizza. Layna was sitting next to Sam, chatting away with questions about his wings and whether or not he could speak to birds.

She had done the same thing when she met Clint.

Walking into the room, Kara smiled at her daughter. “Look, babe, our own daughter is already sick of us.”

“Mama!” Layna got up and hugged her, standing on her toes a little. “Uncle Tony said that you were feeling better and that you and Dad were playing a game upstairs.”

Her jaw dropped, and she glared at her brother. “First of all, I’m going to kill you for that. Second, your Dad and I were just spending some time together, that’s all.”

“Are you okay now?” Layna asked her. “I heard you yelled at the secretary at school.”

Wincing, she nodded. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I’ll explain it all to you later, but right now, I just want to forget about it, okay?”

“Hey,” Natasha said as she walked up to her. “That’s up to you, but I promise no one here blames you for anything.”

Then, surprising everyone in the room, the redhead hugged her. Returning the hug, Kara smiled. “Thanks, Nat.”

“Did hell just freeze over?” Tony asked quickly. “What is happening here?”

Pulling apart, Kara and Nat glared at him. “Hey, we’re close friends. It happens.”

She put her hand on the assassin’s shoulder, and Pepper stood. However, before she could speak, Kara walked over and hugged her. “I’m so sorry. I don’t think I will ever be able to say enough ‘sorries’ in this lifetime.”

“Stop.” Pepper pulled away and looked her directly in the eyes. “I know that wasn’t you speaking. We may have to make some apologies at work, but you don’t need to do it for me, okay?”

The alien sighed. “Brunch next week? I’m buying…”

“Now that I will take you up on.” Pepper smiled before her eyes went wide with a sudden realization.

Reaching down to grab Kara’s hand, she lifted it, and her jaw dropped. “Oh, my god. Is that what I think it is?”

Looking down, Nat took her friend’s hand and smiled. “Finally.”

“Yes!” Layna screamed and hugged them both. “You’re getting married!”

“Pay up, boys.” Sam laughed.

Rolling his eyes, Steve shook his head. “Really?”

“Hey, a man has to pay the bills somehow.” The newest Avenger shrugged.

The celebration only lasted a little while, however. As they were talking in separate groups, a large gray portal opened in the living room. Looking up in shock, Kara’s eyes widened as two bodies jumped out of it.

Staring back at the group, the men winced. Standing, Kara adjusted her glasses. “Barry?”

Glancing at his companion, the speedster waved. “Uh…hi.”


End file.
